NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Baja California Striped Whip Snake
Masticophis aurigulus (Cope, 1861)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Masticophis aurigulus (Cope, 1861)
- Name authority
- (Cope, 1861)
- Common name
- Baja California Striped Whip Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Masticophis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyColubridae
- subfamilyColubrinae
- genusMasticophis
- speciesMasticophis aurigulus (Cope, 1861)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Masticophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Ajo Mountain Whipsnake [lineolatus]Masticophis bilineatus Jan, 1863 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| CoachwhipMasticophis flagellum (Shaw, 1802) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Baja California CoachwhipMasticophis fuliginosus (Cope, 1895) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neotropical Whip SnakeMasticophis mentovarius (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Schott's WhipsnakeMasticophis schotti Baird & Girard, 1853 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Striped WhipsnakeMasticophis taeniatus (Hallowell, 1852) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Isla San Esteban WhipsnakeMasticophis slevini Lowe & Norris, 1955 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Masticophis lineatus Bocourt, 1890 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| CoachwhipMasticophis piceus (Cope, 1892) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Bascanium aurigulum Cope, 1875 Cope, 1875 | synonym |
| Drymobius aurigulus Cope, 1861 Cope, 1861 | synonym |
| Coluber aurigulus Stejneger & Barbour, 1917 Stejneger & Barbour, 1917 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Masticophis&species=aurigulus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:88L9L. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.